I just spent the last hour smoking bullets for a .338 Lapua and trying to keep them off the lands. I ended up with an O.A.L. of 3.405 inches. I have done this before, and everything adds up. I am using Norma brass, and 250 gr. Nosler Partitions.

However, the Barnes (I know; but Nosler doesn't show the Lapua) Manual says, "With a loaded overall length of 3.81 inches...."

Since that's nearly half an inch of open chamber between what I'm finding and what the manual says, and since that chamber will be hanging onto over 100 grains of powder, I figgered I better get a response from somebody that knows.

kk

My loads are all from 3.625" to 3.655" depending on which bullet. I have loaded 4 different bullets in it, and they all came out somewhere in this range. I think on my rifle, I ran into magazine box length before throat length as the limiting factor.

KK,



What rifle do you have chambered in the 338 Lapua?



Is it factory or custom?



If your getting rifling engraving at those lengths, then your throat must be pretty short or even non existent. Make sure your getting the marks made by the rifling and not the throat or lead rubbing the smoke off your bullets.



Personally, I find it easier to read an unsmoked bullet when developing loads for a rifle I built for one of my customers.



I cut all my chambers with tight 0.0002" to 0.0005" over bullet diameter throats. Beacuse of this most things you mark the bullet with will rub off or at least show rub signs when chambered.



Of course, with my rifles, I know exactly the dantam line of the rifling and there for know where to seat bullets to within a few thousandths anyway.



If your rifle is a custom job, call the smith that built it and he can provide this information, which he should have anyway.



If it is a factory rifle, call the manufacturer and see what they say. This oal length seems pretty short in my mind.



50

Two things, the Barnes book has more then a few errors in it, and my Sako TRG=S in 338 Lapua allows a maximum COL of 3.675" woth 250 gr Hornady bullets. HTH - Dan

Hi, Fiftydriver:

Unfortunately, I can't tell you too much. The rifle is a Sako, but it belongs to the president of our company. I'm just working up a load for accuracy so he can see what the gun is capable of.

At 3.89, I couldn't close the bolt.

kk

The rifle is what it is...

If you haven't got a Stoney Point COL tool (and everyone should! )

Then take a bullet, mark it entirely with a jiffy marker, and load it long into a case. Force he round into the chamber.

Pull the case out with the bolt (The bullet will probably stick int he barrel) and then GENTLY push out the bullet with a rod.

Teh bullet will show where the bulet was forced into the case by looking at where the jiffy mark has been pushed off.

Do this a couple of times, measuring each time. Take the average of the length, and then set your dies to make he COL .030 shorter. Tehn muck around witht he depth until youfind good accuracy. Teh book max COL means very little...it's the specs for factory ammo, which will chamber in every rifle, regardless of mag lenght and distance to the lands...